


the Daily Dressing

by Scrib_eyeSteak



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-11 15:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11151417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scrib_eyeSteak/pseuds/Scrib_eyeSteak
Summary: The warriors of Valentia prepare for their day by donning their personal effects.





	the Daily Dressing

Celica hummed a little tune as she undid the ties of her nightgown and brought the dress over her head, leaving her in her smallclothes. Taking the time to neatly fold it, she brought the slim black skirt up her legs and around her hips before putting on a matching sleeveless top. She sat down on her bed as she rolled up the black stockings, letting her foot sink into the material before guiding it up her leg to the mid of her thigh. Repeating the action with her other stocking, the Priestess finished her first layer.

 

Continuing her hymn, the redheaded lass pulled her unique white robe over her head, bringing her arms through the sleeves before finally securing the six buttons that kept the central tasset in place. With just a few shimmies to make sure everything was fitted where it would be most comfortable, Celica moved onto her armor.

 

She started with the breastplate, bringing it over her head letting the hardened straps rest on shoulders. It really was a remarkable little thing, with the pauldrons already in place and ready to pivot thanks to specially crafted notches. After tightening down the straps that wrapped around her hips, she fastened the disjointed choker that would keep her chest piece firmly secured. With her upper body done, Celica made herself busy by clamping the greaves to her thighs before slipping on the heeled sabatons. The last thing was her fingerless gauntlets, which slid on easily enough and proved to be as flexible as ever.

 

With her decency and protection secured, Celica was finally allowed to move onto her personal effects. Easing into the chair by her mirror, she started to brush her hair until it could be properly formed in the manner she desired. Before the final touches however, she reached into the small box on her desk and pulled out the simple earrings she’d taken from the villa; one of her last mementos of the time before. With practiced ease, she pinned them through the holes in her lobe, pinching off the sharp needle with the protective clasps that matched her pair. Once her ears were done, she was finally able to finish her hair and put the headband on that would keep her locks in place.

 

Once she was satisfied with her looks, Celica rose from her chair and walked over to the rack that held her cape and the Golden Dagger. Sparing no flourish, she wrapped the cape around her back and felt for the catches that would keep it in place, but also permit it to come loose in a pinch. With one final look behind to make sure everything was in place, Celica stepped out of her chamber to start her morning prayers...

 

ALM

 

Alm started before the sun rose, as he’d done every day since Mycen started training him. After securing the black long trousers that would serve as his base, he threw on the long sweater that reached to the top of his thighs. Next came the blue padded corset, although he had some issue with the straps in the back. Grandfather Mycen had insisted that he learn to arm himself without the aid of another, and that included a mirror. It took some time, but finally he could feel the knot tighten and secure the upper garment into place. The last things he put on were his armor-knuckled gloves and his socks, both rolled underneath the garments that preceded them.

 

From there, he moved onto his armor, starting with the greaves that protected the front and sides of his legs. After securing the two straps, he repeated the process on his other leg, going slightly faster now that he was more alert and familiar with the act. Next came his bracers; slid over the segmented plates of his gloves in such a manner that his wrist would be protected and able to maneuver in all degrees required for swordwork. Mycen had told him that two of the most important pieces of armor were the greaves and bracers, and to prioritize donning them before any other piece. Although, he had dryly admitted that the sword arm’s pauldron should be a close third when Alm had asked, and true to from he secured the left one first before the right pauldron followed.

 

The breastplate was a simple affair, placing his head and shoulders between the two suspenders before fidgeting to tighten the straps under his arms. A few rolls of his arms and some further adjustments, and the plate was finally snug and secure against his torso. Once he was sure that the upper segments of armor were good, Alm reached for the armored tasset that would protect his right thigh. The left cloth tasset was bit tricky to fold over, but eventually he was able to wrap the half-skirt over his upper belt and under the wider leather cover, keeping it in place. He wasn’t really sure why his grandfather had insisted on including such a useless aesthetic, but at least it wasn’t anything ridiculous like an armored tasset on his crotch…

 

Nearly done, he slipped on the sabatons that would mesh with his greaves, making sure his ankle and toes could maneuver properly. The last thing he did was put the armored circlet on his forehead; a gift from Celica before she’d left him seven years ago. Alm shook his head clear of any thoughts; he had a full day of training to focus on and couldn’t be bogged down by such emotions. Now ready, the young warrior rushed out the door, giving himself a few last-moment checks before he started his morning chores…

**Author's Note:**

> So one of my favorite writing exercises and warm-ups is to describe how a character puts on their wardrobe. I recall a certain criteria that my old writing group came up with in regards to the ‘tiers’ of a character: 100 words or less for a nameless entity, 150 words for a named supporting character, and no more than 250 for a main character. In that respect, the challenge would be to accurately describe how someone went about donning his or her often ridiculous, outlandish apparel every morning in a manner that wouldn’t drag on and lose the reader’s interest. As you can see, I failed in that respect rather spectacularly for both characters at around 470 words apiece, but I couldn’t help but slip in some characterization and lore-building, so that also bumped me over. 
> 
> Those that read Cantor Morning already got a taste of that from me briefly describing Saber’s attempt to suit up, along with how the characters were missing certain parts of their outfits. that was done after I made a brief rundown of how each character would theoretically act each morning in regards to what would already be worn and what would be added in order. There's no real schedule for this; whenever I hash out an example that I think could be worth posting, I'll clean it up and submit it. That said, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this or what kind of warm-up prompts you use to get the creative juices flowing.


End file.
